As one of the measures in the Charging Infrastructure Master Plan II, the Federal Ministry for Digital and Transport (BMDV – Bundesministerium für Digitales und Verkehr) has initiated the development of guidelines for more accessible charging infrastructure. The result of this measure is the new DIN SPEC 91504 ‘Barrier-free charging infrastructure for electric vehicles’ ('Barrierefreie Ladeinfrastruktur für Elektrofahrzeuge'), which the German Institute for Standardisation (DIN – Deutsches Institut für Normung e.V.) has now published.
The application of the DIN SPEC will enable charging infrastructure to be easily found, accessed and used by people with disabilities without the need for assistance. The DIN SPEC can be used to define specific accessibility requirements for publicly accessible charging infrastructure for electric vehicles.
On behalf of the BMDV and under the umbrella of NOW GmbH, the National Centre for Charging Infrastructure has initiated and led the process of developing DIN SPEC 91504 at DIN. The committee that developed and adopted the DIN SPEC included stakeholders from the mobility and energy sectors, manufacturers of charging facilities, operating companies, interest groups for people with disabilities, and representatives from the federal, state and local governments.
Daniela Kluckert, Parliamentary State Secretary at the Federal Ministry for Digital and Transport and the federal government’s commissioner for charging station infrastructure: “Barrier-free mobility is one of the key prerequisites for people with disabilities or other limitations to participate in social life and enjoy equal opportunities. More and more people are driving electric cars and need a charging infrastructure that is easily accessible and usable for everyone. The Federal Ministry for Digital and Transport has therefore actively supported the publication of the DIN SPEC. It is an essential step towards greater accessibility in electric mobility.”
As part of the ‘Charging Infrastructure Master Plan II’, the BMDV had set itself the goal of developing technical requirements to enable people with disabilities to use the charging infrastructure. Together with numerous relevant stakeholders, the National Centre for Charging Infrastructure initially developed the ‘Simply charging without obstacles’ guideline, which was published in April 2023. The guideline also served as a basis for the development of the DIN SPEC. This describes technical and other requirements for a barrier-free charging facility and its environment, and can be used, for example, in tenders for charging infrastructure to be installed.
Johannes Pallasch, Head of the National Centre for Charging Infrastructure under the umbrella of NOW GmbH: “With DIN SPEC 91504, we now provide a well-founded answer to the question of how to design barrier-free charging infrastructure. On this basis, accessibility can be specifically taken into account when planning charging infrastructure. This is how we can achieve real progress for people’s mobility needs.”
DIN SPEC 91504 can be used for the planning, execution and equipping of publicly and non-publicly accessible charging infrastructure for electric vehicles. This applies to the construction, conversion, expansion or modernisation of existing charging infrastructure. In particular, municipalities as well as manufacturers and operators of charging infrastructure can be supported.
DIN SPEC 91504 can be downloaded free of charge as a PDF from the publisher DIN Media. The development process was financed by the ELSTA project, which is funded by the Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs and Climate Protection (BMWiK – Bundesministerium für Wirtschaft und Klimaschutz). The aim of the project is to continue to advance electric mobility in Germany by means of standardisation. A DIN SPEC can usually be implemented more quickly than a DIN standard and is therefore particularly suitable for establishing standards for technical innovations.
Link to DIN SPEC 91504
Link to the (German language) “Simply charging without obstacles” guideline: “Einfach laden ohne Hindernisse”